President Bola Tinubu has given a directive for the comprehensive implementation of the Oronsaye report, a landmark document proposing reforms within the public sector to streamline governance and reduce costs.
The 2012 Oronsaye report revealed the existence of 541 federal government entities, including statutory and non-statutory parastatals, commissions, and agencies. Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information, announced after Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) session that President Tinubu has endorsed certain reforms outlined in the report.
Idris explained that the reforms would involve the dissolution, merger, or reorganization of various agencies to streamline operations and reduce the financial burden on the government.
“In a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigeria, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Oronsaye report,” Minister Idris stated.
He further elaborated, “Now, what that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped. Some have been modified, marked while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where the government feels they will operate better.”
The Oronsaye report, submitted in 2012 to the Jonathan administration, aimed to rationalize the structure of the federal government and optimize efficiency. Although the report had been reviewed and followed by a white paper under the Jonathan government in 2014 and later by the Buhari administration in 2022, it had not been fully implemented until now.
President Tinubu’s administration is taking proactive steps to address the issue of high governance costs by acting on the recommendations of the Oronsaye report. An eight-member committee has been tasked with overseeing the implementation process within a 12-week timeframe, ensuring that necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring are promptly executed.
The decision to implement the report signifies a significant shift in government policy, as previous administrations had failed to act on its recommendations.
The committee is to be led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,